Hero, Mentor, Friend
by GalaxyPegasus14
Summary: A collection of oneshots dealing with the relationship between Zero and Gingka. No yaoi whatsoever. #1: Mentor: One week after winning Neo Battle Bladers, Zero is wondering what to do next. He finds a note left clipped to his belt, and follows the directions on it.


**Okay, so I have been really liking the idea of a Zero/Gingka friendship story, so I started writing some. This one will be similar to my other group of stories, 'Hagane Family,' but will deal with the relationship between Zero and Gingka instead. Before you read this story/collection of stories, I would like to make it clear that there will be no yaoi in this whatsoever, because I don't read yaoi and I don't write, think, or on any other way do anything with it. So, enjoy! The title and summary of each oneshot will be posted directly above the story.**

**#1: Mentor.**

**One week after winning Neo Battle Bladers, Zero is wondering what to do next. He finds a note left clipped to his belt, and follows the directions on it.**

_"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the Neo Battle Bladers tournament is Zero Kurogane!" _The words kept playing themselves over and over again in Zero's head. Sure, he had won, but it didn't seem like it.

"What's next?" Zero whispered, stopping to look out over the river. The sun was setting, causing the water to appear blood red in color. The last anyone had heard of the DNA was a threat to return and take over everything. Since then, none of their bladers had been seen anywhere. It had been a full week since the tournament, and Zero felt like he was about to go insane.

"Is this what it's like to be the strongest?" Zero asked. "Was this how you felt, just waiting for the next threat to come along? What do I do?" He waited, half expecting his hero to show up again, like he had that night.

_"No matter what, don't forget your Bladers' Spirit."_

"I'm trying, but this is too much. What do I do? It seems like there is a threat waiting around every corner!" Zero shouted over the river in front of him.

There was, of course, no reply. The young blader sighed and turned away. A few minutes later, he arrived at the abandoned construction site where he had seen his hero. In the back of his mind, he knew that Gingka wouldn't be there, the legend was probably miles away by now, but there was still a part of him that hoped he somehow was there. Zero needed advice, advice that none of his friends could give him, advice that he didn't trust Tsubasa or Benkei to be able to give.

Zero sighed and reached back for his launcher and bey. A look of confusion fell across his face. Something was different. There was something attached to his belt just behind the carrying case that held Ifraid. Zero looked at it, wondering how it had gotten there and how he hadn't noticed it before. He opened it and pulled out a small piece of folded paper. As he unfolded it, Zero found that it was a note.

_If you ever need help, you can come to me. The door will always be open for you, Zero. _

_From one champion to another, Gingka. _

_1234 Pegasus Rd. Building 5, Apt. #4. Metal Bey City, Japan. _

Zero's eyes widened. "You- left a way for me to find you?" He whispered.

Half an hour later found Zero walking through the parking lot at the address named on the note. He soon found the building with a large number five painted on the side of it, and walked around to the back of it. Only one light was on in the entire building, in what turned out to be apartment #4.

Zero raised his hand to ring the doorbell, then paused. Even though he had seen and battled Gingka only a few nights ago, and the note indicated that he was welcome anytime, he was nervous.

Zero took a deep breath and pressed the button, then stepped back as he heard the doorbell.

A few seconds later, the door clicked as it was unlocked. The door opened to reveal Gingka himself, dressed casually in black sweatpants and a blue t-shirt.

The redhead grinned at the sight of the younger blader. "I thought that was you. Come on in!" He stepped aside to let Zero enter.

"Just make yourself comfortable on the couch or something. Want some hot chocolate?" Gingka entered the kitchen and opened a cabinet as Zero sat down on the couch.

"Umm, sure, thanks." Zero was surprised at the friendliness of the famous blader.

"So, what's up?" Gingka asked as he set down a steaming mug in front of Zero and sat down on the couch next to him.

Zero looked up and met the older blader's eyes nervously. "Well, I... Umm..."

"Is it about Neo Battle Bladers?"

"Y-yeah. I know it's over, but for some reason I'm all tense. It's like there is something waiting around every corner, especially since the DNA called Tsubasa-san and told him they would be back."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Even though one threat has passed, you always get the feeling that another one is around the corner, especially after three years straight of dealing with threats, the last of which still plays vividly over and over again in your mind, sometimes ending differently than it actually did."

"But what do I do about it?"

Gingka sighed. "Well, you can't get rid of the feeling, that's for sure. But, you can't always be afraid of the looming threats. The most you can really do is to always be ready for it."

"That's just it, I don't know what it is, but it kinda scares me, not knowing what is coming. Yeah, I beat Kira, but what if it's something more powerful than him?"

"It always is more than the last, unfortunately I can guarantee you that much. All you can do is become stronger yourself, and expect what might seem impossible."

"But what if it comes and I'm not ready for it? W-would you jump in?" Zero looked up at the older blader's eyes again.

Gingka smiled. "I would, only if it were absolutely required. In the case of your battle with Kira, it was necessary to interfere, although not in the way that most would expect."

"About that, thanks for doing it. I wouldn't have been able to win otherwise."

"You would have been able to, actually."

"Huh?"

"Battling me didn't give you any new strength, what you needed was already there. But, you were missing the knowledge of the way the spirits of bladers bond through battles, and, although I did lend you a small amount of my power, it was because of battling me creating that bond between us that you were able to use that power. You could have done it on your own."

"W-will you train me?" Zero blurted out suddenly.

Gingka smiled. "I was waiting for you to ask. Of course I will." He reached across and ruffled Zero's hair. "We can start tomorrow, since it is a bit late to start now. You can sleep here if you want to. I actually have to go to the store, I'm all out of burger meat. Want to come? We can get your stuff on the way from wherever you are staying."

"O-okay." Zero said.

Gingka set his half-empty mug down on the table and stood up. "Let's go then, we'll go to the store first and then to pick up your stuff, since the store closes in about an hour. Just let me get my gear and keys and we'll go."

Zero finished off his hot chocolate, watching as the Legendary Blader disappeared into another room. A few minutes later, he returned, his red and brown belts now present on his hips, his gear ready and waiting. He grabbed a set of keys off a hook by the door and motioned Zero over.

The two went outside, Gingka turning off the lights and locking the door of his apartment behind him. Zero followed the redhead down to a small blue car.

"Hop on in." Gingka said, unlocking it and climbing into the driver's side.

Zero climbed into the passenger's side as Gingka started the car.

"So, what do you want to start with?" Gingka asked once they were on the road.

"Huh?"

"In training, what skill do you want to work on first?"

"Oh, umm... Whatever needs the most work I guess."

"Hmm, okay then. From what I've seen, what would that be..." Gingka was silent for the rest of the trip.

A couple of hours later found the two seated once again on Gingka's couch, and Gingka was telling stories about the last World Championships.

At about midnight, Gingka handed Zero a blanket and went to bed.

"Good night, Zero."

"Good night, Gingka-san."

Zero slept soundly, but was woken up the next morning by a loud crash. The young blader yelped as he fell on the floor with a loud thud, tangled in his blankets. He looked up a few seconds later to see Gingka standing in the doorway with a kitchen towel, coated in flour and trying not to laugh.

"Umm, good morning?" Zero said after a few moments of awkward silence.

Gingka grinned. "Yeah, sort of. As you can see, the flour jar jumped out of the cabinet and onto the floor. You seem to be a bit of a rough sleeper."

Zero struggled to get free of the blanket's grasp. "Yeah, little help here please?"

Gingka laughed and stepped over. "Let's see, what did you do with the edge of this thing?"

Fifteen minutes later, Zero was finally unwrapped and on his feet.

"I'm going to go clean up the kitchen and get breakfast fixed. The bathroom is just down the hall if you want a shower." Gingka said, tossing the blanket onto the couch and turning back to the kitchen.

Zero rummaged through his bag for some clean clothes and went to take a shower. When he got out a few minutes later, the smell of toast and eggs was in the air. Zero followed the scent to the kitchen, where Gingka, still covered slightly in flour, was busy scooping scrambled eggs onto plates.

"Here," Gingka handed him a plate, "eat up quickly, we don't have long and I want to get right to training, the place we are going is on the opposite side of town."

"Where are we going?" Zero asked through a mouthful of toast.

"Bey Coliseum, it's remote and nobody really knows about it, so it's perfect." Gingka replied before shoving half of his plate into his mouth.

A few seconds later, Gingka finished eating.

"I'm going to go get a shower." He said, getting up and putting his plate in the sink before heading for the bathroom.

Zero just stared after him, wondering how he had gotten all of his food down almost faster than Zero could finish his eggs.

Once he was done eating, Zero went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Absentmindedly, he spun Ifraid with his hand, then got an idea. He pulled out his launcher and gave Ifraid a full-power launch, then sent the silver and red bey on a spiraling course around the legs of the coffee table. Wondering just how much control he could exert over the bey, Zero began telling Ifraid to go in tighter and tighter circles around the table leg.

After a few minutes, Ifraid was joined by a silver and blue bey, which zipped around the table in the same pattern as Ifraid, only at twice the speed.

Zero looked up, startled. Gingka was standing right behind him in a launching pose, grinning, his signature scarf and blue jacket waving slightly in a breeze that Pegasus' speed was creating.

"Well, looks like you are ready to go do some training!" Gingka exclaimed, catching his bey out of the air.

Zero grabbed Ifraid and stood up. "Yeah, I was a bit bored."

Gingka chuckled. "So you did the exact same thing I did when I was bored once, but I was waiting for the preliminary rounds of the World Championship selection tournament to finish, since they just put me on the team without making me work for it. It was the most boring thing ever."

Zero laughed as well, still feeling a bit awkward around the legend, but getting more and more comfortable around him due to Gingka's friendly attitude.

"Let's go then." Gingka grabbed his keys and opened the door.

Nearly an hour later, they arrived at Bey Coliseum.

"Here we are!" Gingka exclaimed, tossing the mysterious bag he had brought off to the side and placing his hands on his hips.

"It's huge!" Zero exclaimed, looking around. His attention was suddenly grabbed by the sound of bey coming in contact with launcher.

"First things first." Gingka said as Zero turned to face him. "We battle, and I teach you a few techniques, starting with the launch."

Zero, now beginning to get pumped, raised his launcher.

"Stop!" Gingka said suddenly as Zero reached for the ripcord.

"Huh?" Zero was confused as Gingka lowered his launcher to his side and stepped over.

"Like I said, first things first beginning with the launch. I'm going to show you a better pose to take." Gingka stepped behind Zero and gently grabbed both of the younger blader's arms, raising his hands nearly to the same level as his eyes. He then stooped down and moved Zero's left foot back a few inches.

Zero stood in the new position, wondering why it was important as Gingka regained his own stance at the opposite side of the space.

"Ok, now when you do launch, pull straight back, bending your arm until it cant go back any further, than straightening it. It takes concentration to do at first, but eventually will become natural. Ready?"

Zero nodded.

"Three." Gingka said.

"Two." Zero chimed in.

"One!"

"Let it Rip!"

Zero concentrated on the launch, and nearly lost control of Ifraid as it flew from the launcher.

"See? You get a lot more speed that way." Gingka said, chasing the red and silver bey down with his own bey and stopping it in its tracks with a well-aimed attack.

"Now, regain control of Ifraid and we will move on." Gingka pulled Pegasus back to spin steadily in a circle. "Once your bey is following the same path as mine, we will continue."

"_Same path, got it._" Zero thought. However, after more than a minute of concentrating, Ifraid was still moving about, uncontrolled. The young blader looked over at his opponent, who, to his surprise, seemed to be focusing on Ifraid's movements, and seemed to be completely ignoring his own bey, which was still spinning steadily in a tight circle.

"Close your eyes." Gingka said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Close your eyes and listen." Gingka looked up at Zero.

"O-okay…" Zero trailed off, closing his eyes.

"Now, do you know where Ifraid is without looking?"

"Umm, no."

"That's your problem, you need to feel and hear it, not just see it. Most people wonder how I know whether I have won or lost when I cant see my bey, how I can control it when it's thousands of miles above my head preparing for a special move. If you close your eyes, it's easier to feel where your bey is, because you aren't distracted with trying to follow it with your eyes."

Zero concentrated, then opened his eyes with a gasp. "I-I felt it!" he exclaimed. "Gingka-san I-" he stopped.

Gingka, across the space, was demonstrating what he had just spoken about. "Pegasus is moving in a tight circle just around Ifraid, as you can see. It takes a lot of training to be able to do this, but it is possible, and it is your current goal that I am setting for you."

Pegasus broke off circling Ifraid to stand in a steady position at the center of the space between the two bladers.

"Once you can circle Pegasus in a tight ring, we will move on." Gingka said, leaning against a nearby wall to watch.

Zero looked down, and saw that he now at least had control over the silver and red bey. He sighed, wondering what he had gotten himself into, and closed his eyes.

"_I get it, this is a test to see how much I can control my bey. All I have to do is remember where his Pegasus is, and then aim for that spot, or just outside it. Concentrate Zero, it can't be that hard. Plus, if you ever want to surpass him, you have to be able to do what he can do. Concentrate!"_

Gingka smiled as Ifraid began tightening its ring.

"Good job." Zero jumped at the words and opened his eyes. Ifraid was spinning in a tight circle, no more than an inch away from the powerful silver and blue bey.

The young blader grinned and looked up at Gingka, who was smiling.

"It took you about three hours, but you did it."

"Three hours?" Zero exclaimed as his stomach suddenly growled, loudly.

Gingka laughed, then stopped as his own stomach began complaining.

"Let's stop for lunch, shall we?" the redhead chuckled, stepping over to the bag he had brought and pulling out a small portable grill and some hamburger patties.

After lunch, the two resumed training, and by the end of the day, Zero was exhausted.

"Had enough now?" Gingka chuckled, leaning over and looking at the young blader, who was lying on his back on the ground, panting.

Zero nodded and started to sit up, then collapsed in a dead faint.

"Oops." Gingka muttered, kneeling down and picking the young blader up gently. Little did the two know that this was to become their routine almost daily, training at the Bey Coliseum by day and returning to Gingka's apartment by night, usually with Zero too worn out to even stand. Every day, both Zero and the bond between him and Gingka grew stronger, until one day, he survived even Gingka's Starblast Attack. While Gingka admitted that that was his weakest move and the easiest to last through, he did say that it was impressive.

One Saturday morning, about a month after he had begun training with Gingka, Zero walked out of the room that had now become his to find Gingka seated on the couch watching the news.

"The DNA has returned." Gingka said as Zero sat down next to him. "Are you ready to face it?"

"B-But, I'm not strong enough!" Zero exclaimed, watching on the screen as the camera showed several areas of devastation with Kira standing at the center, following a group of bladers that Zero did not recognize.

Gingka suddenly stood up. "Zero! Don't you dare call yourself too weak to face an opponent, if you don't stop them, who will?" he pointed to the tv screen. "You have the power to do it, you withstood one of my special moves yesterday! Whether you like it or not, your friends need you to lead them, not me. I lead my generation, now it's your turn. I will not interfere unless I am needed. Now get your gear on and go save your friends."

Zero began trembling at this sudden outburst, he had never heard Gingka speak like that before. Nevertheless, it woke him up, and he obeyed without further question.

Gingka stood at the window and watched Zero as he disappeared down the street in the direction of Bey Park, where the explosions were coming from. As soon as the young blader was out of sight, Gingka turned and strode to his room, closing the door behind him.

Zero ran, not knowing what he was going to do ut to afraid of Gingka's newly revealed temper to not do anything.

"Zero! Where have you been?" Ren asked as he ran up to her.

"Training, where are the others?" Zero asked.

Ren gulped and pointed. Shinobu, Kaito, and Eito were all lying on the ground unconscious, with Kira standing in the shadow of another blader, who was gloating over his victory.

"Please Zero, you have to beat him. Nobody else can." Ren pleaded, showing him her nearly-shattered Phoenic.

Zero clenched his teeth and growled under his breath. "Just who do you think you are?" he yelled. "beating up other bladers like that, that's not how it should be!"

"Well, aren't you a little annoying kid. Run back to where you came from, why don't you?" the other blader sneered.

"If I run back, I get yelled at for not trying to beat you. Really, I have no choice!" Zero yelled, raising his launcher.

"Zero, be careful." Shinobu muttered, pushing himself to a sitting position. "He has a power I've never seen before, way stronger than Kira's. You can't beat him."

Zero looked at his rival. "I know, but I have to try. I have gotten a lot stronger since Neo Battle Bladers, and there is someone I can't disappoint." with that, he turned back to face the other blader, who looked down at him with a sneer.

"I don't know who you are, but my name is Zero Kurogane, and I am going to beat Gingka Hagane someday. To do that, I have to beat you first." Zero challenged, moving into the new stance Gingka had taught him. "Let's do this, Ifraid!"

"Interesting, you think you can beat him? You're both annoying little brats!"

"Oh, just you wait Dan, he has more power than you think." Gingka chuckled, watching from behind a pile of rubble.

Dan glared at the younger blader. "Reiki, there is another bug here to squash."

Another blader, who looked nearly exactly the same as the first, stepped out of the shadows.

"So there is, he doesn't look like much of a challenge."

Zero growled and tightened his grip on his launcher.

"Let's go, rookie!" Dan and Reiki said in sync, Dan raising the launcher with Gemios attached.

"Three." Zero started, feeling nervous but doing his best to hide it.

"Two." Dan and Reiki joined in.

"One!"

"Let it Rip!"

"Go Ifraid! Show them what you can do now!" Zero called, sending Ifraid flying around several piles of rubble.

"So fast! How did he improve his speed that quickly?" Shinobu whispered, leaning on Ren.

"I-I don't know! Whatever training he was doing has really improved his skills!" Ren replied.

"Gemios!" Dan called.

"Another pesky attack type, you are a little brat like that annoying Gingka." Reiki taunted.

"I'm an annoying brat, huh? That's not exactly a compliment." Gingka muttered.

"DOn't call him that! He's the greatest blader in the world!" Zero defended his hero. Ifraid suddenly charged towards Gemios, who dodged easily.

"Hah! That was- no way!" the twins were surprised as Ifraid changed direction in a flash and came up from behind, slamming into Gemios with a huge amount of power.

"How did he- Zero didn't have the ability to do that before!" Shinobu exclaimed.

"Yeah, I kinda taught him that. You're welcome, Sodo twins." Gingka chuckled to himself.

"Ifraid! Go!" Zero shouted, sending Ifraid flying into the air. "Here we go! Ifraid, Burning Tornado Fire!"

"Gemios, Down Burst!" the Sodos said in stereo, as a spiraling blue and red tornado leapt up to meet the glowing red Ifraid.

All three bladers yelled as their beys clashed, causing a huge explosion and dust cloud.

Zero grabbed Ifraid out of the air as the Sodo twins retreated behind a new figure who had appeared.

"Well, you seem to be an interesting young blader." the menacing figure said. "But, if I'm not mistaken, your moves are very similar to those of Gingka Hagane himself."

"So what?" Zero shot back. "Who are you anyway?"

"Excuse me, I rather seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Doji." the figure replied, reaching for a nearby tray held by a butler and picking up a wine glass filled with what looked like orange juice. He took a sip of it and set the glass down.

"Doji?" Zero and his friends were confused.

"You don't seem to recognize my name. I am the former owner of an organization called the Dark Nebula."

"Huh?" Zero's friends, who were now all awake and back on their feet, were confused.

"I've heard of your organization." Zero growled. "What do you want?"

"Huh?" Zero's friends were even more confused.

"Merely to talk and make you young bladers an offer." Doji said. "SInce you have heard of us, Zero, you may have heard some misconceptions, mainly those that say we are trying to take over the world. In fact, we aren't, and are only trying to further our way of training. If you all will but join me, I will show you the truth, and correct those misconceptions."

"The answer is no! you were on Nemesis's side during that time!" Zero yelled. "How you survived being thrown off a cliff is a mystery to me, but you are just a big liar!"

"Well, if that's the way you think." Doji snapped his fingers and two bladers leapt out of the shadows. One had blue hair, edged with a light green, and the other had red hair that covered both of his eyes, with a weird white and black design on the top of his head and gold-edged bangs.

"Sorry, but this is where it ends for you. If you won't join us, we will take you by force." the blue-haired blader said.

"Ssss, this should be quite fun!" the other hissed.

Zero didn't know why, but he suddenly began trembling at the sight of the hissing blader, who was quite snakelike in his behaviour.

"Shall I crush you to powder now?" Reiji hissed.

"Or will it be my turn? You weaklings don't stand a chance!" Damian laughed, raising his launcher.

Zero, trembling, raised his.

"Aww, look, he'ssss already ssscared." Reiji laughed evilly.

"Are you ready, weakling?" Damian taunted.

"Who are those guys?" Ren wailed softly, hiding behind Shinobu.

"I-I-I-I-I- d-don-t k-know…." Kaito stuttered as Eito hid behind him.

"Zero…" Gingka trailed off, watching the trembling young blader.

"Stop!" Zero yelled suddenly. "I don't care what you try, no dark power is a match for a true blader!"

"A true blader, you sssay?" Reiji seemed a bit unnerved by Zero's words.

"Yes, a true blader, one who never gives up, one who has the spirit and determination to win!"

Reiji lowered his launcher and stepped back, looking a bit nervous.

"What, scared you weakling? I thought you said nobody couls scare you, and you could scare anyone!" Damian turned to Reiji.

"W-well, thatsssss partially true, but there issss one." Reiji hissed. "And, if I remember correctly, he ussssed thossse exact words, or sssomething like them, when battling me."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "All that talk about Bladers' Spirits is just nonsense, an idea created by Gingka to scare people."

"Don't mention that name to me! SSStop it!" Reiji suddenly launched, then gripped his head like he had gotten a severe headache.

Zero reacted and launched at the same time as Damian, who immediately began attacking.

"Reiji! Snap out of it!" Damian yelled, shaking the other blader, who shoved him away.

"Great, he just had to break down at a time like this. No matter, Damian, you can take care of these pests just as easily." Doji said, looking at the writhing snake with a look of extreme distaste.

"Ifraid!" Zero attacked, only to be easily shoved back by Kerbecs.

Gingka clenched his teeth and his fists, barely able to stay where he was.

"Kerbecs! Hades Drive!"

"Uwahh!"

"Zero!" Shinobu and the others were worried for Zero as their friend was enveloped in flames.

"Ifraid!" Zero was sounding panicked now as he tried to evade Kerbecs' attacks without success.

All the group of young bladers could do was to stand there as their friend collapsed to his knees inside the wall of flames.

"Ssserpent!" Reiji finally regained his composure and began attacking as well.

Zero screamed as an explosion filled the air, flying backwards. A second explosion sounded, kicking up tons of dust.

As the dust began to clear, Damian and Reiji, as well as Doji, all had rather confused looks on their faces, all knowing that they hadn't caused the second explosion. The dust settled further to reveal two figures, barely visible at first. One, the taller one, was kneeling next to the limp form of the other, suporting him carefully. Before the two became fully visible, the taller figure carefully laid the shorter down and stood to his full height.

"This ends here and now! I won't tolerate your twisted ways any longer!" a sudden gust of wind cleared the remaining dust.

Reiji instantly lost his mind again, Serpent beginning to move about randomly. "No, I won't do thisss again!" Reiji yelled, attacking.

"It's no use Reiji! You were right, the line Zero used earlier is one that I often use, Damian. That's because I taught it to him!" Gingka yelled, his aura wrapping itself around him as he stepped over the unconscious Zero and stood between the younger bladers and the evil bladers.

"G-Gingka-san?" Shinobu and the others were surprised.

"So, you come to annoy us again, Hagane." Doji growled.

Gingka smirked. "Long time no see, Doji. What are you, invincible or something? The last time I saw you, you were flying off a cliff because of the shockwaves generated by Nemesis's attacks!"

"Still annoying as ever I see. Well then, looks like I have no choice! Wolf!"

"Stop it in its tracks, Pegasus!" Gingka took up a battle stance as Doji launched.

"Two against one, huh? Hardly fair for you guys!" Gingka yelled, causing an explosion that sent Reiji running for cover as Serpent's rotation stopped.

"Heh, we'll just see about that. Darkness Howling Blazer!"

"Same old moves I see."

"Kerbecs! Hades Gate!"

"What is this, a remake of the World Championships and the Dark Nebula Headquarters at once? Sounds fun! Pegasus! Storm Bringer!"

"Wow…" SHinobu and the others were shocked as Damian's gates rose and were instantly shattered by the force of Wolf being blown back into them.

"Pegasus, Big Bang Tornado!" Gingka began using one move after another, giving Doji and Damian no time to react. Pegasus reared up and whinnied, spreading its wings before smashing into both Kerbecs and Wolf.

"Fly! Pegasus, Stardust Twister Attack!" a blue bolt of pure energy surrounded the blue and silver bey as it dove onto Kerbecs, nearly knocking it out of commission.

"Finish it! Pegasus, Shining Wing!" Pegasus flew, knocking what little rotation Kerbecs had left away as it soared into the sky.

"Big Bang Tornado! Combo Special Move: Pegasus, Cosmic Nova!"

Shinobu and the others covered their faces as the final explosion filled the air. Once it cleared, Doji and Damian could be seen fleeing, dragging Kira, the Sodo twins, and an insane Reiji after them.

Gingka took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his aura disappearing as he caught Pegasus out of the air. They were saying." he chuckled, turning to the stunned group behind him.

Zero had woken up at the explosion and was staring wide-eyed.

"I told you that you could handle it, I just didn't expect Doji to show up." Gingka said, holding out his hand towards the young blader to help him up.

Zero grinned and clasped his hand in the stronger one of the Legendary Blader. "I thought you said you weren't going to interfere?"

Gingka chuckled. "Well, I thought I'd come watch, and I said I wouldn't interfere unless I was needed." he ruffled Zero's hair playfully.

"Hey! Stop that!" Zero whined, ducking out from under Gingka's hand.

"Now you have to introduce me to your friends." Gingka said, turning to the group.

-A few days later-

"Where are they?" Benkei grumbled, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently.

"They still haven't shown up?" Madoka said, coming up next to the Bull.

"No, I haven't seen them since the DNA attack, I hope nothing happened to them."

"Well, I'm sure they-" Madoka was cut off as a bucket of water landed on Benkei's head, a few drops splashing her.

Benkei pulled off the bucket and looked up, only to have another land on his face.

"Zero! Shinobu! What are you doing?" Benkei yelled once the second bucket had been tossed to the side.

"What's it look like?" Zero asked, grinning.

"Where have you been for the past month? You have missed a whole month of training! You have to keep training, just because you are Japan's ace doesn't mean you can just hang around and relax!"

"I have been training! Evil doesn't sleep and neither do I!" Zero called down.

"You've been training? Wait a minute, that line sounds familiar." Madoka said.

"Hey Manager, what's that?" Shinobu pointed.

Benkei looked and got nailed in the face with several foam darts.

"Alright, you two are in trouble!" he yelled, running after the Unbara brothers, who high-fived, yelped, and began running around the training area firing more bullets at Benkei with their nerf guns.

"Hey, Manager!" Ren called.

Benkei looked and got squirted in the face with a super soaker that Ren was holding.

"I thought those things had a shot limit!" Benkei yelled, attempting to shield himself from the freezing blasts.

"Well, normally they do, but when you have a hose hooked up to them, they really don't, sorry." Ren called, continuing to squirt Benkei.

Madoka looked up at Zero and Shinobu, who were grinning. "Did you two come up with this?" she asked.

"Nope." Shinobu replied.

"We had nothing to do with planning it." Zero said.

"Catch, 'Manager!'" another voice cut in.

"Huh?" Benkei turned and was nailed in the face by a bowl of pudding that flew out of the bush next to him.

"THat was the best ambush ever!" Zero and Shinobu exclaimed, jumping down out of the tree and doing a victory dance in a circle around the center of the training area. They were soon joined by the Unbara brothers and Ren. Madoka watched them doing their insane antics.

"Seriously, after getting hit two other times by looking over when someone called, you would think that you would not fall for it a third time."

Benkei pulled the bowl of pudding off his face and looked up. Gingka was bending over him, a huge grin spread across his face.

"You… are in so much trouble." Benkei muttered, grabbing the bowl and standing up.

Madoka's attention was attracted by a yelp coming from behind her. The brunette turned to see Benkei staring up into the branches of a tree shaking his fist, the now-empty pudding bowl tucked under his arm.

"Get down here!" Benkei yelled.

"No thanks, I have a great view from up here." the voice Madoka had heard earlier replied, the one that had come before the pudding.

The younger bladers stopped their victory dance and grinned.

Ren snuck around behind the tree and held up the water gun she was carrying to a brown-gloved hand that reached down for it.

"Uh-oh." Benkei began running, but a figure dropped out of the tree into a kneeling position, took a quick but careful aim, and fired, soaking the messy blader.

Zero began laughing. "That was awesome!"

Gingka stood and grinned. "Nobody is a match for an ambush planned by us, right guys? High-fives all around!"

"You?" Madoka was shocked.

"Yup, sorry for stealing your trainees by the way, Benkei. We're just having a day off from constant training."

"You're training them now?" Benkei said, getting up from where he had collapsed.

"Well, yeah."

Benkei took a deep breath, then exploded. "YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT!" he yelled.

Gingka sprayed him with the water gun in response. "Yeah, I could have, but I didn't."

"_So this is the new Gingka? I often wondered what he would be like, looks like he is still the same crazy redhead I knew before, but he's definitely more mature. And he's… umm… taller and… stronger physically than before…" Madoka thought to herself._

_Gingka suddenly turned to her with a grin. "Nobody escapes without getting wet!" he yelled, firing the super soaker at her._

_Madoka gave a little squeal of surprise._

"_Uh-oh, I'm in trouble!" Gingka turned and ran._

"_Oh yes, yes you are." Madoka growled, chasing the redhead. "Gingka! Get back here! You have a lot of explaining to do mister!"_


End file.
